Railway car side door structure



T. C. SODDY RAILWAY GAR SIDE DOOR STRUCTURE Nov. 23, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I` l I I l Il... I l l I ||I Filed June 1 8. 1962 Nov. 23, 1965 T. C. SODDY RAILWAY CAR SIDE DOOR STRUCTURE 2 Sheebs--Sheei'l 2 Filed June 18. 1962 AWE/v me T60/m15 Cf Soda/)I 'y ,477'0 A/EYS.

United States Patent M 3,218,679 RAHIWAY CAR SIDE DOOR STRUCTURE Thomas C. Soridy, Downers Grove, Ill., assigner to American Seal-Kap Corporation of Deiaware, New Yorir, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 13, 1962, Ser. No. 293,198 3 Claims. (Cl. 20-23) The invention relates to wall and door structure of the type in which a door closing an opening in the wall is ush with the wall when in closed position and moves out 'of the opening laterally and then lengthwise of the opening to uncover the latter. Doors of this type are commonly used in railway house cars and also on other types of containers such as walk-in refrigerators, merchandise trucks or containers carried by the same, etc.

Among the objects of the invention are to simplify door mounting, operating and locking mechanisms, and to make possible increasing the inside Width of the container although over-all distance across the doors and their operating mechanism, when in open position, is limited by adjacent structure such as loading platforms, docks or other permanent elements establishing limits which may not be exceeded by the structure of which the doors form a part. The invention substantially reverses the customary door construction in which the door includes angular structural members and an outer sheathing the outer face of which mounts supporting and locking shafts. In the present structure, the mounting, operating and locking shafts are outboard of the door sheathing but are in the same general plane as the door structural elements and when the door is closed or positioned inboard of the outer plane of the container wall and the door threshold.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a selected embodiment of the invention in a railway house car:

FIG. l is a side view of the pertinent portion of a car side.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2 2 of FIG. 1 and drawn to an enlarged scale.

FIG. 2A is a detail horizontal section on line 2A-2A of FIG. l.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are vertical transverse sections on the corresponding section lines of FIG. l.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are horizontal sections corresponding generally to FIG. 2 but are substantially diagrammatic and show the parts in different positions assumed during initial opening and nal closing of the ush door.

The car side 1 includes upright posts 2, 3 of angular cross section on opposite sides of which the inner and outer sheathings 4, 5 are mounted. A wide door opening extends between posts 2 and 3 and beneath this door opening the car body side sill 7 is reinforced by a channel 9. Doors 11 and 13 cooperate to close the opening. Main door 11 corresponds to the usual sliding door applied to the outer face of the car and is carried on ball bearings 15 in housing 17 along the bottom of the door and held in spaced relation by a cage 19. The balls travel upon a track 21 mounted on brackets 22 secured to sill reinforcement 9. Door 11 moves in a straight line along track 21 between open and closed positions, the closed position being indicated in FIG. l.

Auxiliary plug door 13 comprises a wall-like sheathing or panel 71 and structural framing members 72, 73 positioned outboard of the sheathing. The door is supported on a carrier 27 with spaced rollers 25 traveling on a track 23 mounted on brackets 24 secured to reinforce ment channel 9 at a lower level than track 21. Horizontal cranks 29, 36 have depending trunnions 31, 32 respectively, at their outer ends journaled in carrier 27. The inner swinging ends of cranks 29, 30 are offset up- 3,218,579 Patented Nov. 23, 1965 ICC wardly. Fixed to the inner end of crank 29 is a long upstanding door-mounting shaft 33 (FIG. 3) journaled on the door by brackets 35, 36. Fixed to the inner end of crank 30 is a short upstanding hollow door-mounting shaft 34 (FIG. 4) journaled in a bracket 37 on the door and terminating adjacent the upper end of bracket 37. Mounted on the inner ends of cranks 29, 30 and surrounding shafts 33, 34 are bearings 39 which support brackets 35, 37 and the door. A lever handle 42 is fixed angularly on shaft 33 above the level of bracket 36 but is pivoted at 43 to swing vertically. Shaft 34 rotates freely in bracket 37. Preferably both shafts 33 and 34 are tubular and short shaft 34 receives and journals a locking camshaft 45 which extends upwardly above shaft 34 and is also journaled in upper brackets 38 on the door. A locking lever handle 49 is attached to shaft 45, above the level of the upper end of short shaft 34, similarly to the attachment of lever handle 42 on shaft 33. Lateral arms or cams 51 (FIG. 2A) at the lower and upper ends of locking shaft 45 terminate in offset cam pins 52 disposed to enter diagonal slots in keepers 53 iixed on the car wall below and above the bottom and top of the door respectively. When the door is closed, tongues 65 (FIG. 2) fixed on door framing 72 project into recesses 66 in the opposing side wall post 2 and positively hold the door against outward movement without applying any torque to crankshaft 33 and irrespective of its angular position. This prevents outward springing of the door which could follow an attempt to operate shaft 33 by lever handle 42 before the front end of the door was unlocked and shifted outwardly and forwardly.

Manual rotation of locking shaft 45 by lever handle 49, irrespective of independent manual movement of crank 3i) or its door mounting shaft 34, positively swings the right hand or forward end of the door to and from the car wall, as indicated by the position of cranks 30 and the `forward edge of the door in FIGS. 2, 2A, 6, 7 and 8. When the locking shaft and its arms and pins are in the position shown in FIG. 2A, the line of thrust between the axis of shafts 34, 45 and pins 52 is approximately at right angles to the opposing face of the pinengaged slot in keepers 53 and the door is held tightly closed, handle lever 49 being secured in a bracket 55 by an ordinary car seal 57. This involves no torque on shaft 45.

To open flush door 13 it is necessary first to move main door 11 to the right far enough for its front edging 61 to clear flush door front edging 63. Then locking shaft 45 is rotated manually by locking lever handle 49 in an anticlockwise direction and pins 52 engage the inner ends of the cam slots in keepers 53 (FIG. 6) and the front edge of the ush door moves outwardly and forwardly far enough to clear the flush door rear tongue locks 65 from the recesses therefor in body wall post 2 (FIGS. 2, 7). Then shaft 33 is rotated by lever handle 42 to bring the rear of the flush door outwardly over and beyond carrier 27 and track 23 (FIG. 8).

This will bring door 13 out beyond the clearance line C (FIG. 3) established by the Association of American Railroads (A.A.R.), and close to but spaced from the face D of a dock or platform as is utilized by some railroads, warehouses etc. This is unimportant when the car is standing. When the door is closed its wall 71 is substantially liush with the inner sheathing 4 of the car body side wall and the door framing members 72, 73 and front edging 63 and the weather guard 74 are inboard of the plane of the outermost elements of main door 11 as is usual construction.

When the flush door is closed, its mounting shafts 33, 34, locking shaft 45, brackets 36, 37 and lever handles 42, 49 are positioned mainly, if not completely, inboard of the plane of the outer margins of the door framing instead of projecting outboard thereof as has been the general practice in doors of this type. Accordingly, the over-all inside Width of the car may be increased above that present in cars where mounting and locking shafts are mounted on the exterior face of a door wall applied to the outer faces of the framing.

The use of the tongues 65 by inserting the same into recesses in car wall post 2 avoids the necessity of a locking shaft near the left hand end of door 13. The use of cranks 75 on the upper ends of mounting shaft 33 and locking shaft 45 with rollers 77 received behind retainer 79 avoids the extension of mounting shaft 34 to the top of the door.

The positioning of the cam lock 45, 52, 53 near the forward edge of the door avoids the necessity of additional locks as have been utilized where locking shafts are placed between spaced door mounting shafts, as provided (for example) in the railway car door structure described in application Serial No. 99,332 led February 15, 1961,now Patent 3,129,469, issued April 21, 1964, in which the present applicant is coinventor.

When door 13 is shifted to its outermost position it is movable lengthwise of the car wall by manual thrust or pull on handle 80 or other fixed part of the door. In closing the door, it is moved to the right until the right hand end of carrier 27 strikes a stop 81 on channel 9. Likely the momentum of the door will cause the cranks 29, 30 to swing inwardly so that cam pins 52 on locking shaft 45 are opposite the entrances to the cam slots in keepers 53. If not, the door may be pushed inwardly to so position the pins. Then lever handle 42 on shaft 33 is rotated counterclockwise to shift the door inwardly against the threshold 82. Then locking shaft lever handle 49 is rotated clockwise to move the cam pin along the keeper slot outer face which will force the entire door to the left, engaging tongue lock 66, and then inwardly to the fully closed position (FIGS. l, 2), the cam pin engaging the inner face of keeper slot 53.

As indicated above, the construction described makes it possible to Widen the car interior and thereby increase its cubic capacity without undesirable lateral projection of the door mechanism when the door is opened. Also the number of parts and the shifting of the door from flush position to moving position along the track is simplitied and less expensive than the arrangement disclosed in application Serial No. 99,332 mentioned above.

The details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of those modifications coming within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination in a railway house car structure having a body side wall including inner and outer sheathing and spaced upright side posts defining a door opening between them, there being a track mounted on said structure below the level of said opening and positioned outboard of the outer face of said side wall, a door having an inner wall-like sheathing and having framing members positioned outboard thereof, a carrier mounted on and movable along said track, a bracket secured to said sheathing adjacent the lower margin thereof and projecting outboard of the sheathing, a horizontal crank arm below the bottom of the door with a depending trunnion at one end freely journaled in said carrier and with an upstanding mounting shaft at its other end projecting above the bottom of the door and supporting said bracket and free to rotate therein to accommodate swinging movement of the crank arm on the carrier and the movement of the door transversely of the track, said door and shaft being movable by the swinging of said crank arm, into and out of said opening into position flush with the car wall and projecting inboard of the upright plane of the outer face of said car wall, and into position wholly outboard of said plane, said mounting shaft being tubular and terminating adjacent the top of said bracket, an upright locking camshaft journaled in said mounting shaft and projecting below and above the ends of said tubular mounting shaft and provided below said tubular shaft with a lateral arm having an offset cam pin, a keeper on the car wall structure having a horizontal cam slot inclined to the car wall with an open end disposed to receive said pin when the door is abreast of said opening, and a handle lever on said locking camshaft above the upper end of said tubular mounting shaft for manually rotating said locking camshaft in said tubular mounting shaft to move the door and shafts transversely of the car wall by the cam action of said pin and the sides of said slot.

2. In combination with a wall structure having a door opening with an upright rear post at one end, a track on the wall structure alongside the opening, an elongated rigid carrier movable along said track, forward and rear horizontal crank arms near the ends of the carrier, each crank arm having a depending trunnion at one end journaled in the carrier and an upright mounting shaft at its opposite end, a door supported by and journaling said upright mounting shafts and having forward and rear portions adjacent said forward and rear crank arms respectively and being movable into and out of the opening by swinging the cranks on their trunnions in the carrier, the door being movable rearwardly lengthwise of the opening past said post, a keeper on the Wall structure positioned forwardly of the mounting shaft adjacent the forward crank arm when the door is abreast of the opening and having a cam slot disposed diagonally of said wall structure and open at its outer end, an upright locking camshaft journaled on the forward portion of the door and having a cam pin offset from the camshaft axis and engageable with said keeper cam slot when the door is abreast of said opening, said camshaft being rotatable to thrust the pin against a side of the slot and move the adjacent portion of the door inwardly and rearwardly of the door opening, and a locking element projecting rearwardly from the rear edge of the door and engageable inboard of an inwardly facing element of said post as the door is moved rearwardly by said camshaft.

3. A combination according to claim 2 in which the locking camshaft is journaled in the mounting shaft adjacent the forward crank arm and said mounting shaft and locking camshaft are rotatable independently of each other.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,021,039 2/ 1936 Haseltine 20-23 2,834,067 5/ 1958 Beauchamp 20-23 2,842,809 7/ 1958 Shaver 20-26 2,878,533 3/1959 Beauchamp 2023 2,992,462 7/ 1961 Gutridge 20-23 2,997,752 8/ 1961 Hendrickson et al. 20--23 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner, 

2. IN COMBINATION WITH A WALL STRUCTURE HAVING A DOOR OPENING WITH AN UPRIGHT REAR POST AT ONE END, A TRACK ON THE WALL STRUCTURE ALONGSIDE THE OPENING, AN ELONGATED RIGID CARRIER MOVABLE ALONG SAID TRACK, FORWARD AND REAR HORIZONTAL CRANK ARMS NEAR THE ENDS OF THE CARRIER, EACH CRANK ARM HAVING A DEPENDING TRUNNION AT ONE END JOURNALED IN THE CARRIER AND AN UPRIGHT MOUNTING SHAFT AT ITS OPPOSITE END, A DOOR SUPPORTED BY AND JOURNALING SAID UPRIGHT MOUNTING SHAFTS AND HAVING FORWARD AND REAR PORTIONS ADJACENT SAID FORWARD AND REAR CRANK ARMS RESPECTIVELY AND BEING MOVABLE INTO AND OUT OF THE OPENING BY SWINGING THE CRANKS ON THEIR TRUNNIONS IN THE CARRIER, THE DOOR BEING MOVABLE REARWARDLY LENGTHWISE OF THE OPENING PAST SAID POST, A KEEPER ON THE WALL STRUCTURE POSITIONED FORWARDLY OF THE MOUNTING SHAFT ADJACENT THE FORWARD CRANK ARM WHEN THE DOOR IS ABREAST OF THE OPENING AND HAVING A CAM SLOT DISPOSED DIAGONALLY OF SAID WALL STRUCTURE AND OPEN AT ITS OUTER END, AN UPRIGHT LOCKING CAMSHAFT JOURNALED ON THE FORWARD PORTION OF THE DOOR AND HAVING A CAM PIN OFFSET FROM THE CAMSHAFT AXIS AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID KEEPER CAM SLOT WHEN THE DOOR IS ABREAST OF SAID OPENING, SAID CAMSHAFT BEING ROTATABLE TO THRUST THE PIN AGAINST A SIDE OF THE SLOT AND MOVE THE ADJACENT PORTION OF THE DOOR INWARDLY AND REARWARDLY OF THE DOOR OPENING, AND A LOCKING ELEMENT PROJECTING REARWARDLY FROM THE REAR EDGE OF THE DOOR AND ENGAGEABLE INBOARD OF AN INWARDLY FACING ELEMENT OF SAID POST AS THE DOOR IS MOVED REARWARDLY BY SAID CAMSHAFT. 